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THE APOCALYPSE.

CHAPTER XVIII.

1. AND after these things I saw an angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.

2. And he cried mightily with a great voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of demons, and the hold of every unclean spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.

3. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her whoredom; and the kings of the earth have committed whoredom with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.

4. And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

5. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.

6.- Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double, according to her works: in the cup which she hath mixed, mix unto her double.

7. How much she hath glorified herself and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.

8. Therefore in one day, shall her plagues come, death, and sorrow, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.

9. And the kings of the earth, who have committed whoredom and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,

10. Standing afar off, for fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.

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11. And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no one buyeth their merchandise any more;

12. The merchandise of gold, and of silver, and of precious stones, and of pearls, and of fine linen, and of purple and of silk, and of scarlet; and all thyine wood, and every vessel of ivory, and every vessel of most precious wood, and of brass, and of iron, and of marble,

13. And cinnamon, and perfumes, and ointment, and frankineense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and cattle, and sheep; and of horses, and of chariots, and of bodies and souls of men.

14. And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee; and all things dainty and splendid are departed from thee; and thou shalt find them no more at all.

15. The merchants of these things, who were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for fear of her torment, weeping and wailing,

16. And saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls,

17. For in one hour are so great riches come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as ply the sea, stood afar off,

18. And cried, when they saw the smoke of her burning, say ing, What city is like unto this great city!

19. And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.

20. Rejoice over her, O heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath executed your judgment upon her.

21. And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.

22. And the voice of harpers, and of musicians, and of pipers, and of trumpeters shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee.

23. And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth, for by thy sorcery were all nations deceived.

24. And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.

THE SPIRITUAL SENSE.

The Roman Catho-

THE CONTENTS OF THE WHOLE CHAPTER.
lic religion continues to be treated of: that by reason of its adul-
terations and profanations of the truths of the Word, and thence
of the church, it will be destroyed, verses 1-8. Concerning the
chief among those who are of the ecclesiastical order, their nature
and quality, and their lamentation, verses 9, 10. Concerning the
inferiors of that order, verses 11-16. Concerning the laity and
common people, who are in subjection to them, verses 17-19.
The joy of the angels by reason of the removal thereof, verse 20.
Concerning its destruction in the spiritual world on account of
there being no acknowledgment, search after, illustration, recep-
tion, and thence no conjunction of truth and good, which consti-
tute a church, verses 21-24.

THE CONTENTS OF EACH VERSE. "And after these things,"

signifies, a continuation of the subject concerning the Roman Ca-

tholic religion: "I saw an angel come down from heaven, having

great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory," signi-

fies, strong influx from the Lord out of heaven by divine truth,

whereby his church was in celestial light: " And he cried might-

ily with a great voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fall-

en," signifies, that he made it known, that by the divine power of

the Lord all who were in that religion, and at the same time in

the love of dominion in consequence, were destroyed in the spirit-

ual world, and cast into their respective hells: "And is become

the habitation of demons," signifies, that their hells are hells of the

lusts of dominion from the heat of self-love, and of the lusts of pro-

faning the truths of heaven from the spurious zeal of that love:

"And the hold of every unclean spirit, and a cage of every un-

clean and hateful bird," signifies, that the evils of the will and

thence of the action, and the falses of thought and thence of the

deliberations in those hells, are diabolical, because they are turned

away from the Lord to themselves: "For all nations have drunk

of the wine of the wrath of her whoredom, and the kings of the

earth have committed whoredom with her," signifies, that they

fabricated abominable tenets, which are, the adulterations and

profanations of the good and truth of the Word, and caused all

who were born and educated in the kingdoms under their domin-

ion, to imbibe them: "And the merchants of the earth are waxed

rich through the abundance of her delicacies,” signifies, the supe-

rior and inferior orders in that hierarchy, who, by the dominion

over holy things, aspire to divine majesty and super-royal glory,

and continually aim at establishing them by multiplying monas-

teries and possessions under them, and by treasures which they

collect and accumulate from the world, for no purpose, and thus

to procure to themselves corporeal and natural pleasures by hav-

ing celestial and spiritual dominion attributed to them: "And I

heard another voice from heaven saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues," signifies, an exhortation from the Lord to all, as well those who are in that religion, as those who are not, to take heed not to connect themselves with it by acknowledgment and affection, lest as to their souls they should be conjoined with its abominations and perish. "For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities," signifies, that its evils and falses infest the heavens, which the Lord will protect from their violence: "Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works in the cup which she hath mixed, mix unto her double," signifies, just retribution and punishment after death, when the evils and falses, by which they have seduced and destroyed others, will return upon themselves, according to their quantity and quality: "How much she hath glorified herself and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her," signifies, that in proportion to their elatedness of heart from dominion, and according to their exultation of mind and body resulting from riches, so they experience internal grief after death, in consequence of falling from power and becoming contemptible, and of being reduced to indigence and misery: "For she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow," signifies, that these things befall them, because from elatedness of heart over dominion, and exultation of mind over riches, they are in full trust and confidence that they shall reign for ever, and be their own protectors, and that they can never be deprived of their power and possessions: "Therefore in one day shall her plagues come, death, and sorrow, and famine," signifies, that therefore at the time of the last judgment, the punishment of the evils they have committed, shall return upon them, namely, death, which is infernal life, and intestine grief in consequence of their fall from power; sorrow, which is internal grief through being reduced from a state of opulence to want and misery; and famine, which is the deprivation of the understanding of all truth: “And she shall be utterly burned with fire, for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her," signifies, that they will entertain hatred against the Lord, and against his heaven and church, because they will then see that the Lord alone governs and reigns over all things in heaven and earth, and not any man in the least degree from himself: "And the kings of the earth, who have committed whoredom and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning," signifies, the interior grief of those who were in superior dominion and its delights, by means of the falsified and adulterated truths of the Word, which constitute the holy things of the church, when they see those holy things converted into such as are profane: "Standing afar off, for fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city, for in one hour is thy judgment come," signifies, their fear of punishment, and then grievous lam

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